Metro News Release

For immediate release: September 29, 2010

Metrorail opening early Saturday morning System opening at 6 a.m. Saturday for the One Nation Rally

On Saturday, Oct. 2, the Metrorail system will open at 6 a.m., one hour earlier than usual, and operate additional Blue Line service to accommodate the large crowd expected to attend the One Nation Rally on the National Mall. The organizers for Saturday’s event have paid Metro in advance for the early opening and additional rail service.

To help get everyone to the rally, Metro will operate additional Blue Line trains between 7 and 11 a.m. and again from 4 to 8 p.m.

Crowded conditions are expected on all rail lines with the largest crowd expected on the Blue Line heading downtown from the Largo Town Center, Stadium-Armory and Pentagon Metrorail stations.

People attending Saturday’s rally are encouraged to spread out all through the downtown area and use several Metrorail stations, including the Metro Center, Gallery Pl-Chinatown, L’Enfant Plaza, Archives Navy-Memorial-Penn Quarter, Federal Triangle, Smithsonian and Foggy Bottom Metrorail stations. For those driving to Metrorail stations to begin their trips, parking is free at Metro-operated parking lots and garages on weekends.

Metro encourages rally participants to purchase a SmarTrip card or a round-trip farecard before entering the rail system on Saturday to avoid long lines at the fare vending machines.

People traveling to the rally on the Red, Yellow or Green lines should add 30 minutes of additional travel time because of scheduled track maintenance. On the Red Line, trains will share one track between the Shady Grove and Twinbrook Metrorail stations and between the Rhode Island Ave-Brentwood and New York Ave-Florida Ave-Gallaudet U Metrorail stations. On the Yellow and Green Lines, trains will share one track between the between the Mt. Vernon Sq/7th St-Convention Center and U St/African-Amer Civil War Memorial/Cardozo Metrorail stations.